Debate What is the purpose of Education ?

[Maciamo]

Question 1 : What do you think is the main purpose of education in general (at school, at home, by self-learning...) ?

1) Is it first of all do get a good job and make money ?

2) Is it to be able to cope with life on the whole, such as coping with daily difficulties, getting a right attitude, behave properly in social situations, managing one's house and finances, etc.

3) Is it for self-improvement, self-fulfilment and knowledge for its own sake ?

4) Other purpose

I'd go for (2) as the most important, as somebody with the right mindset can later learn by him/herself, and eventually get a good job.

Question 2 : Who should teach what ?

Personally, I think that parents should teach about (2), while (3) should come from oneself. (1) depends a lot on what job one wants to do. Some jobs can be learned from parents, friends or by oneself, but many require an academic diploma. However the diploma does not necessarily mean that that school/university taught the person everything. They could have learned by themselves too.

 

[Kinsao]

I can't believe I never even noticed this section before! :shock:
anyway...

I would also go mainly with (2), but I think (3) is quite tied-in with it. Self-improvement and self-fulfilment are often linked with coping, managing one's life, and social issues. I work in adult learning and a lot of people who return to learning years after having left school (often with few or no qualifications) decided they wanted to learn something out of a 'coping' motivation (e.g. to understand their kids' homeworks, to manage their finances, to write letters/emails), but this is also all tied up with ideas about self-improvement (it's surprising how often people say 'I wanted to better myself'). They often have a low self-confidence because of not being able to cope well in certain situations. And when they begin to learn, they gain confidence, not only in the skill they are learning specifically, but also in social interactions if they are attending a class. A lot of times, people are nervous to attend a class for the first time, they are afraid people will think they are stupid or something, and mostly they discover it isn't like that, they can do well, they meet new people, make friends and stuff.

Who should teach what...?
I think that the 'learning for its own sake' naturally comes from the individual, and should do, you can't force someone to enjoy learning 'for its own sake', by its very nature it comes from the person.
I agree that parents should teach about (2), but it can also come from the person, even if they have not had it from their parents, as a motivation for them. (Like the people I mainly know of through my work, a lot of them had not got this motivation at all when they were younger, but discovered it for themselves later on in life.)

For (1), I think that's partly the job of educational establishments (school, college, uni etc.), and in addition, I think that employers should invest more in training/educating people. If they want the best staff for the job, they should make that investment. It can be helped (in a cheaper way) by 'buddying' and work-shadowing schemes, where you learn from a colleague rather than going on a formal course. Not all of 'learning' consists of something you get a certificate for! For some kinds of jobs, particularly the more practically-orientated ones, it seems that from outside, learning of the practical skills is hardly considered to be an 'education' at all (by comparison with going to uni and getting qualifications). But what matters is having the skills to do the job.

 

[Sophialiu]

Home education, school ducation or self-learning, these three style can not lack of any one.

 

[Duarte]

“The main purpose of education in general: Is it to be able to cope with life on the whole, such as coping with daily difficulties, getting a right attitude, behave properly in social situations, managing one's house and finances, etc.”

The teacher's parable.

Jesus Christ taught many life lessons through parables. The following parable is by an anonymous author and was sent to me in my father's family group on WhatsApp, in which I participate. My cousin is called Rita Christine. When I finished reading I remembered Christ, so I decided to post it here:

" An young man meets an old man and asks him:

- Do you remember me? And the old man says NO.


So the young man says that he was his student.
And the teacher asks:
- What are you doing, what do you do for a living?


The young man replies:
- Well, I became a teacher.


- Oh, good, like me (said the old man).


- Yes.
In fact, I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you.


The curious old man asks the young man what moment inspired him to become a teacher.


And the young man tells the following story:


- One day, a friend of mine, also a student, arrived with a new and beautiful watch, and I decided wanted it for me and I stole it, I took it out of his pocket.

Soon after, my friend noticed the theft and immediately complained to our teacher, who was you.


So, you stopped the class and said:


- Your classmate’s watch was stolen during class today.
Whoever stole it, give it back.


I didn't return it because I didn't want to.


So you closed the door and told to all of us that you will get search our pockets until you find the clock.

But, you told us to close our eyes, because you would only look if we all had our eyes closed.

So we did, and you went from pocket to pocket, and when you got to mine, you found your watch and took it.

You kept looking for everyone's pockets, and when you finished, you said:
- "Open your eyes. We already have the clock."


You didn't say anything to me and you never mentioned the episode.
I never said that I stole the watch.

That day, you saved my dignity forever.

It was the most shameful day of my life.

But it was also the day my dignity was saved from not becoming a thief, a bad person, etc.

You never said anything to me, and even though you didn't scold me or call my attention to give me a moral lesson, I got the message clearly.


And, thanks to you, I understood that this is what a true educator must do.

Do you remember that episode, professor?


And the teacher replies:
- "I remember the situation, the stolen watch, which I looked for in everyone, but I don't remember you, because I also closed my eyes while looking."


This is the essence of teaching:
If to correct you need to humiliate; you don't know how to teach.

 

[blevins13]

The purpose of education is to learn a routine that it will be followed for the rest of our life, the sequence is:
1. Wake up early and get on time.
2. Stay at a table for several ours
3. Deliver and expect evaluation performance.


Sent from my iPhone using Eupedia Forum

 

[Salento]

... learn how to question, and how to think for yourself.

... and so you don’t sound like a fool when speaking to other people :grin:

 

[Angela]

... learn how to question, and how to think for yourself.

... and so you don’t sound like a fool when speaking to other people :grin:

That's indeed one of the major purposes. Unfortunately, it can turn into a tool to brainwash a whole generation and create groupthink.

I sometimes think you're either born with a critical, skeptical mind, or you're not.

I'd add that one of the most important purposes is to teach people about the past. As I'm sure you've heard, "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."

That's why it's criminal that every graduate of a university is no longer "required" to take at least a year long course in world history. Heck, they should be required to take a couple.

 

[capita]

Any education and learning is development. The brain atrophies without training. Man must learn while he lives, otherwise, in my opinion, there is no sense only in existence. If we analyze the development of mankind, all human achievements have been made through learning and development. Fortunately, you don't have to study for 10 years to be able to do something. It is enough to take courses online or offline. The main thing is to want. Because the diploma itself is worth nothing if it is followed by emptiness and unwillingness to develop